Faulty drains lead to flooding

OUR CORRESPONDENT

Silchar, June 12: The district administration will study the stormwater drainage scheme in Karimganj town in an effort to find out “inherent fallacies and defects” after the flooding in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Sources said 109mm of rainfall fell from 1.30am to 6.30am in Karimganj and its adjoining areas. A senior administration source said at least 80 per cent of Karimganj was flooded after the heavy rain, affecting over 1 lakh residents. Karimganj deputy commissioner Sanjib Gohain Barua said it was imperative to discourage “further urbanisation of Karimganj town” and suggested setting up of satellite townships to ease the population pressure.

Satu Roy, president of Karimganj district Congress, said a citizens’ meeting convened this afternoon arrived at a consensus that “faulty planning of the stormwater drainage, which was built at a cost of Rs 5 crore, was at the root of the people’s problems”.

Habibur Rahaman, journalist and social worker, accused the PWD and Karimganj municipality for preparing a faulty design and for “deviations in the width of the drains from six feet to four feet and the depth from 12 feet to just nine feet at places”.

Roy also alleged the “indolence” on the part of the municipality to clear the mud choking the drains, also contributed to the flooding.

The citizens yesterday demonstrated against the authorities by holding rallies in knee-deep water in some key areas of the town.